Wu Yuyan became a global marketing sensation in 2025. During the past lychee harvest season, in May and June, Wu, a live streamer from Jianqun, a village in Yongxing, a town in Xiuying District, in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province, promoted the specialty of her hometown — Lychee King, a kind of lychee grown in the volcanic soil — through live streams. Her live streams were unique because they were bilingual. Wu explains — in Chinese and fluent English — the features of various types of lychee, and she showcases the Lychee King fruits grown in the orchard. Her live streams have attracted the attention of many international viewers. During the harvest season, Wu used e-commerce to sell more than 2,000 kilograms of the lychees produced in her family's orchard.
Wu, who was born in 1992, began operating an agricultural e-commerce business in 2022, after having worked in the media industry for several years. Her family was coping with an inefficient local supply chain, which was hindering the sale of lychees. Wu wanted to help solve the problem.
Jianqun, with more than 4,000 mu (266.7 hectares) of lychee orchards, has had a vibrant lychee industry for more than 30 years. Throughout those years, more than 600 households have grown lychees and depended on traditional sales channels.
"I was interested when I saw some live streamers introduce their local specialties in English. My major was English in college, so I decided to leverage my media experience and advantage in helping promote the sale of our Lychee King," Wu recalls.
She learned how to produce short videos. She has posted more than 200 bilingual videos, about the daily routines of lychee growers, on social media since 2023. In those videos, she has explained, in detail, the growing process of Lychee King, from budding to bearing fruit. Her videos have helped promote the global popularity of Lychee King.
After she analyzed the operating models of more than 100 overseas social-media accounts, especially those that focused on agricultural products, she discovered the engagement efficiency of English content was higher compared with Chinese content.
Wu decided to highlight three categories of content — information about volcanic soil, the culture of Hainan, and comments from international consumers after they tasted lychee — on her accounts. In 2024, her bilingual live streams generated a noticeable increase in overseas orders. Sales of her family's lychees rose 50 percent that year.
Wu currently aims her promotion videos primarily at overseas buyers and Russians living in Hainan. One video, showing a Russian eating Lychee King, went viral in 2024.
Wu has taught her fellow villagers how to use live streaming to sell lychees. Her experiences have set an example for others trying to develop rural e-commerce channels.
In recent years, relevant departments in Xiuying District have organized training sessions in user acquisition, live streaming and short-video production. Officials in the departments have also guided local entrepreneurs and live-streaming companies in ways to promote Lychee King through professional live-streaming activities.
Wu has faced various challenges in selling lychees via live streaming; for example, how to control logistical costs, especially in terms of cross-border trade, and how to accurately translate agriculture-related terms. "I was encouraged when some workers from local women's federations told me 'You are not alone as a woman entrepreneur. We will support you.' I will continue doing e-commerce in the countryside, together, with all women live streamers," Wu says.
Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) officially launched special, island-wide customs operations on December 18, 2025. Under the special operations, Hainan FTP will implement a supervision model featuring "freer access at the first line, regulated access at the second line, and free flows within the island."
The "first line," which links Hainan with overseas markets, will allow most imported goods to enter tariff-free, with faster clearance. The "second line," which refers to the customs boundary between Hainan and the mainland, will apply standard customs oversight to ensure fairness and prevent smuggling. The operations give Wu confidence about exports of Lychee King, and about the future of the lychee processing industry.
Wu says she will produce more short videos featuring the specialties of her hometown, and she intends to promote Lychee King to a wider market.
Photos from Interviewee
(Women of China English Monthly January 2026)
Editor: Wang Shasha
